The 17th Conference of the Parties, COP 17 to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change began its high-level segment in South Africa on Tuesday. The Vietnamese delegation, led by Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha participated in bilateral and multilateral discussions with members of the UNFCCC. High level discussions of the COP 17 focused on narrowing differences on a number of key issues among groups of countries. They include G77 of developing countries plus China, the European Union, the Group of African Countries, the Alliance of Small Islands States, and Least Developed countries. The conference also aims to move toward commitment to the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol, the implementation of a Green Climate Fund and a specific mechanism of transitional committees and committees on climate change response.

At discussions of COP17 experts, the EU called for designing a new comprehensive legal framework on global climate change response which will be completed in 2015. The EU also pledged to mobilize 100 billion USD a year to support a roadmap and necessary solutions on anti global climate change and the Green Climate Fund which is planned to start operating in 2020.